More than 30 new University of Washington faculty members set out on a five-day, 1,100-mile bus tour across the state of Washington in June to better understand the region they now serve.
The annual trip — called the Faculty Field Tour — introduces new professors to the state’s diverse landscapes, dynamic economy and the many communities their students call home.
The immersive tour began at the Burke Museum in Seattle, then continued with stops at the Port of Tacoma, the Washington State Capitol in Olympia — where participants met with Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck — and was followed with a visit to Mount St. Helens.
“I have had so much fun thinking about my students from the various parts of Washington and can envision using what I have learned on this tour in my teaching practice,”
From there, the group traveled to Vancouver, then headed east to Toppenish, Zillah and the Tri-Cities. On the third day, the tour stopped in Ritzville at the Schoesler family wheat farm, operated by Senator Mark Schoesler and his sister, to learn more about the history of wheat farming in eastern Washington.
Then, the new faculty ventured to Spokane to join an annual “Welcome to Washington” reception at the UW Spokane Center. Incoming local UW students, their families and UW Alumni Association Spokane members were also invited.
Thursday included a visit to the Grand Coulee Dam, and on Friday, the group returned to western Washington via scenic Washington Pass.
“I found the Faculty Field Tour to be profoundly meaningful,” Jodi Erickson, an assistant professor at the UW Tacoma School of Nursing & Healthcare Leadership, says. “It was great to meet other faculty as well as to get to know our leaders. As a longtime Washington resident, I didn’t expect to learn as much as I did about the state. The experience broadened my understanding of the state and the people we serve. The focus on humility and open-mindedness was inspiring.”
In a recent op-ed published in The Yakima Herald-Republic, Ed Taylor, vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and a professor in the College of Education, highlighted the value of the tour.
“Most of the faculty on this journey are new to Washington. This is their opportunity to see some of the places and faces that have educated and nurtured the students they will teach, given that about three-quarters of those students are Washington residents,” Taylor writes. “Along the way, the new faculty take in lessons in their areas of specialty — geography, sociology, economics, geology, biology, history, medicine, engineering and technology — new educators in conversation with the citizens we meet at every stop. I can’t think of a more important time to connect faculty with the communities we serve.”
“I really appreciate the opportunities to create these connections and ask folks facing real challenges in Washington — from governance to farming to health care — how they are rising to these challenges,” Julie Larson, an assistant professor of ecological restoration and management in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, says. “It opens the door for us as new faculty to understand what the most important issues and opportunities are for Washingtonians, and how our work might connect into it.”
Learn more about the Faculty Field Tour.
